Tunnel hull boats are designed to trap air underneath the boat hull as the boat moves through water, thereby compressing the air and lifting the boat above the water line defined by the boat's natural buoyancy. The effect of lifting the boat decreases the boat's resistance through the water and allows for faster acceleration and greater boat speeds.
Conventional tunnel hull designs have inherently sacrificed handling characteristics for higher speed performance. In particular, the same hull design that has allowed for lifting the hull out of the water has inhibited banking of the boat when turned, and contributes to porpoising (up and down oscillation of the bow) while turning. Moreover, performance of conventional tunnel hull boats is load sensitive and sea state dependent. That is to say, heavy loads detract from the air capturing and speed enhancing ability of tunnel hull boats, and, as compared to the more traditional V-bottom hull boat, tunnel hull boats are less stable in choppy water.
A high performance boat that combined the speed and acceleration advantages of the tunnel hull with the handling characteristics and stability of the traditional V-bottom hull would be a decided advantage.